


no need to fear the dark of night

by Tatsumaki_sama



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Animal Transformation, Birds, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Light Angst, Low Chaos (Dishonored), Secret Relationship, Shapeshifting, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 09:56:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21269156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tatsumaki_sama/pseuds/Tatsumaki_sama
Summary: Jessamine's lover and Emily's father only returned to them once the sun had set. But when dawn arrived, he became a crow once again.





	no need to fear the dark of night

**Author's Note:**

> The idea of Corvo being an actual crow just wouldn't let me go.

It was a known fact that Jessamine was in possession of a crow.

Not simply any crow, but a magnificent Serkonian crow. It was a rare sight to see, even in Serkonos, with its glossy black feathers, a mighty wingspread and sharp talons and even sharper brown eyes that took note of anything and everything in its surroundings. Its piercing intelligent gaze alone was enough to make some unsettled.

It had been a gift to Jessamine when she was young. And she took to the crow immediately, falling in love with it.

She called it – _him_, Jessamine had insisted repeatedly – Corvo.

A fitting name for a pet.

~.~.~

Jessamine dismissed the need for a Lord Protector.

It was unprecedented, her advisers had argued. Who else would guarantee the heir of the throne's safety and well-being?

“ I have Corvo,” Jessamine would firmly say.

All eyes would then be drawn towards Corvo himself, her ever loyal and present pet crow, watching them from high above.

Throughout the years, he became Jessamine's shadow as the guards and servants had called him, following her, keeping a respectful distance yet always perched close enough to swoop down and land between Jessamine and anyone should he chose to, glaring and spreading his wings at the one who insulted her or caused her discomfort.

There was one instance an assassin came after Jessamine. He did not make it close enough to touch her because Corvo had then descended, silent and swift and deadly. No one would forget the sight of the assassin's bloodied, clawed out eyes and deep gashes raking across his entire face and neck as he dragged away by the guards, screaming in agony.

They wisely said no more.

~.~.~

It was also of interest that Jessamine, soon renowned for her kindness and beauty as she became Empress, took no lover.

She declined any and all proposals and courtships, saying she had no need for it. Outwardly, her court praised her dedication and devotion to her people and kingdom. But behind her back, whispers and rumors spread incessantly.

Maids giggled about hearing a man's voice from the Empress's chambers on some nights, too low and quiet and sometimes they had to strain to hear even a handful of words. But come morning, no one – except the ever watchful Corvo, of course – could be caught in the bedroom.

Guards reported how Jessamine would take late night walks and flitted between the darkness of the trees, a tall figure of a man could be seen next to her and the Empress's arm would casually link over the man's in an extraordinarily intimate gesture.

But upon further investigation, the man would disappear and vanish back into the shadows as if he was never there. And by the time dawn broke, the guards would be greeted by a disgruntled caw from Corvo above in the trees if they stumbled upon his resting grounds.

The gossip merely worsened when Jessamine became pregnant and Lady Emily was born.

~.~.~

Emily loved Corvo as much as her mother.

In turn, Corvo was as dutiful to Emily. Either the Empress or her heir were hardly seen without their feathered guardian on watch.

The physicians and nurses were appalled at Jessamine's insistence to allow Corvo to come near the baby. No filthy, wild animal should be near any child, they had argued.

Despite the bone-deep exhaustion after giving birth, Jessamine ordered them out.

And surprisingly, Corvo was unusually gentle with Emily, nipping carefully at her baby-soft hair and patiently allowing her curious fingers to grab at his feathers and his head, whereas anyone else aside from Jessamine would receive a harsh peck. Early mornings he could be heard crooning and singing, lulling the restless Emily to sleep.

His presence and guardianship over Emily allowed respite for Jessamine as she continued her duties without needing to worry over her daughter.

~.~.~

Her tutors often tutted and complained to Jessamine how Emily always seemed so tired throughout the day during her lessons.

Like her mother, Emily also developed a curious habit of staying up late, well past her bedtime. Emily proudly said she liked talking to Corvo since they hardly spent much time together during the day as Corvo would be staying close to Jessamine as she attended court and meetings. Nighttime, especially after the sun had set was her only chance to speak with him.

Those passing by Emily's room could hear her chattering away to Corvo, telling him about her day, what boring lessons she had to learn, the drawings she did when her teachers weren't looking, little occurrences happening around the Tower.

(on some nights, Emily could be heard giggling and sometimes, another voice, one more softer and hushed, would join her; they had all assumed it was the Empress)

To the tutors' dismay, Jessamine always brushed aside their concerns. “ Emily has only a handful of people whom she is close with,” Jessamine firmly said. “ Let her speak with Corvo if she wishes.”

How strange it was, some would murmur, for a crow to live so long, let alone one so devoted. Most crows did not live more than ten to thirteen years. Yet Corvo remained hale and without any grey flecks to his black wings as he watched Emily grow up.

Some bolder, mocking rumors would say Jessamine had a dusty old crow for a lover and Emily was but a half-breed Serkonian child.

(they were not entirely incorrect)

~.~.~

The day when everything changed was the one Emily counted as the worst day she ever experienced.

She saw her mother lying in a pool of blood, pale and unmoving. Beside her, Corvo had been struck down by an arrow, struggling on the ground, weakly cawing out for Jessamine, for Emily.

She screamed and screamed for them, even as the masked assassins teleported away with Emily in their grasp.

No child should have had to witness such things to both their parents.

“ Damn bird,” one of the assassins was muttering. There was blood dripping from the cracked glass of their eye pieces. “ What a pest.”

Emily lashed out, kicking one of them hard in the shin.

They ignored her as they blindfolded her and dragged her away.

The Pendleton brothers were even crueler once Emily was brought to their care. “ Everyone knew the Empress was screwing a bird,” they sneered, barely acknowledging the way Emily suddenly stood up, her forgotten soup clattering messily onto the floor.

“ Don't talk about my mother or Corvo like that!” she hissed.

“ They're both dead anyways,” they shrugged. “ The Lord Regent gave orders to loop off the bird's head. Fitting for a murderer of the Empress.”

“ You're lying!”

“ Believe what you want to believe, girl. That crow won't be coming for you.”

It was wrong, wrong, wrong. Corvo was always so gentle and kind and so undeserving of what those at court were saying about him when they thought he was just some dumb bird.

If it was night time, Corvo would have stopped her mother from being killed and Emily from being kidnapped. Emily had seen the way he trained in the shadows of the night, practicing with a stolen sword from a careless guardsman.

She had once asked Corvo if he was a man cursed to be a crow or a crow that was transformed into a human. Jessamine sternly had told her to never ask Corvo such things, but Corvo had quietly admitted to Emily later that even he wasn't too sure.

In the end, it didn't matter to Emily whether her father was a crow or human. He was the best father any girl could have hoped for and he was all Emily's.

But everything happened during the day and Corvo remained a crow who was helpless to stop it.

~.~.~

Months crawled by and by then, Emily had ran out of tears to cry and space in her tiny cramped room to pace.

So when a masked man came into her room, she had long no longer cared what happened to her.

But her wildest dreams came true as it was Corvo all along.

He swept her off her feet, spinning her around before he pulled her into a tight embrace. He smelled of earth and rain as he always had and Emily buried her face against his chest, nearly sobbing at the familiar scent.

His hand was warm and gentle as she led him out of the room and to the escape route she had discovered.

In her room there had been no windows, but now that she was free Emily could spot the beginnings of daybreak glimmering in the darkened distance of the sky.

“ In case the sun rises,” Corvo said quietly and carefully to make sure she heard all his words clearly. “ Go to the river. A man named Samuel is there. You can trust him.”

Any moment Corvo would become but a crow again. One who wouldn't be able to protect her as well as he could when he was human. A crow, even the most strongest and fastest one like Corvo, could only do so much against arrow, sword and bullet and other human factors. 

Such was Corvo's curse.

Emily had always hoped to inherit Corvo's mysterious ability, to be able to fly and be free from all responsibilities and duties. But after everything that had happened, she was beginning to reconsider.

Her fingers around Corvo's hand tightened but Emily nodded bravely all the same.

~.~.~

Havelock did not know what to make of Corvo Attano.

He was a man of mystery, only making appearances at night once the sun had set. He had arrived at Hounds Pits, gaunt and hunched, looking more like a ghost than a living man, after Martin's recommendation due to their brief meeting at Holger Square.

Havelock had been reluctant to rely on a stranger with such important details but Martin, having seen the man in action, vouched for him. “ He will be useful,” Martin said. A glint of amusement and interest remained in his eyes, like one entertained by a trained hound. It was a look that Havelock did not fully trust.

And yet, Corvo had been crucial to their plans, acting as their weapon to bring down the Lord Regent and his supporters, one by one.

On the other hand, he refused to kill as instructed, preferring to deal with the targets his own methods. Cruel and effective methods, but they remained alive. Not what they had entirely planned.

And there was his relationship with Emily. The little Empress had managed to find her way here on her own late into the morning, though she was quick to give credit to Corvo freeing her from the Golden Cat. He just wasn't able to deliver her here himself.

On nights when there were no missions, Corvo would watch and smile in their little booth as Emily showed him all the pictures she drew of him or sometimes they would go outside and play games like hide and seek, to Callista's dismay.

“ Emily isn't afraid of the dark,” Corvo calmly said without any worries when Callista pointed out how dangerous this was.

Even more curious, was the black crow that perched oh so carefully on her shoulder during the day and refused to leave her side, even with the temptation of treats from Lydia. It somewhat looked similar to the Serkonian crow that Jessamine once had but none of them had been close enough to get an actual look at the bird.

Emily had taken to referring it to Corvo as well, an odd detail, but perhaps one out of gratitude for the man who had rescued her.

Almost every day, just before the evening, Emily would take her newfound pet to her room where they could hear her voice trail down the stairs and through the walls as she eagerly chattered away to it, occasionally heard begging for a story or to play one more game before bedtime.

(sometimes, Cecilia could have sworn that she heard a muffled man's voice, low and gentle, coming from there too, but no one would listen to her anyways)

It was not unfound to question who exactly Corvo and this crow were to Emily.

Pendleton had questioned it after three drinks. Martin hummed and hawed but he did suspect.

Havelock was not a man who welcomed uncertainty and doubt. And Corvo was too much of an enigma and a loose cannon to leave as it was.

He and that damn crow must be taken care of, quickly and quietly.


End file.
